“You never ask.”
He had a point except… “I didn’t ask this time.”
“I know.”
Right. Let it go. Rome wanted to run with me, I wasn’t going to complain. Not when I needed to burn off some of this aggression. The window during which I could continue to stay here dwindled rapidly. The king hadn’t made mention of my absence from Braxton Harbor, nor had he made any more requests. However, that wouldn’t last.
I’d been absent from the fights for over a week. If nothing else, word of that would get back to him. Better to keep him from looking any closer at me right now than he already had been. I could explain seven to ten days. Anything more?
No, that wasn’t going to fly.
After my shoes were on, I clipped my gun into place at the small of my back. It was a lighter caliber, but it would do, and it didn’t bulge. It was also easier to access. I covered it with the shirt and then we were out the door.
Our hotel wasn’t fancy. If anything, we’d taken a downgrade. No sense in running into anyone who traveled in my circles, or the ones that Emersyn used to inhabit. Pinetree was hardly located in a dense area of population, so the number of five star resorts remained small.
The place we had was off the interstate, clean, serviceable, and absolutely anonymous. Probably better if Rome and I didn’t go out together, twins tended to be noticeable. That said, it was still dark and I needed to run.
One thing about my brother, we didn’t need to talk. He let me pick the direction and then fell into step with me, matching me stride for stride. Just because he didn’t run for exercise, didn’t mean he couldn’t run.
Hell, I was aware of how fast he could go when he pushed it. Thankfully, today wasn’t about racing. The route I chose didn’t have any particular destination. There was a small little tourist town about two miles down the road. It had New England quaint written all over it. We’d only passed through without stopping.
Supply runs meant we went a lot further afield. No sense in leaving tracks. A town that small? We’d definitely get noticed. The slap of my shoes against the damp pavement offered a lulling cadence that soothed some of the rougher edges. The plan—we were sticking to the plan.
I hated the fucking plan.
Four more days, I reminded myself.
Four more days, then I could see Freddie. Hopefully, he would have news on Emersyn. A flash of Hellspawn’s defiant chin lift when we trained, or the way her lips twitched when she gave me hell—the images burned against my mind’s eye.
The first thing I planned to do when I got my hands on her was hug her until she couldn’t breathe. Then make sure she was okay. After that? Well, I figured after that, the spanking she got would keep her off her ass for a while.
“Company.”
The one word warning from Rome forced my attention back to where we were. Shit, I knew better than to let my mind wander. A car swung around us and then yanked over to stop ahead. The expensive make of the car was my first warning.
The man slamming the door as he stepped out of it was all I needed for the second. I moved in front of Rome and met Ezra head-on as he came at me. No idea how the fuck he found us, but I’d known for a long time he wasn’t an idiot. No matter how much he liked to play that he didn’t give two shits about anything that didn’t involve his own pleasure.
I caught him in the mid-section with my foot and shoved him backwards before his fist could land. Air whooshed out of him and he rushed me again. This time when I caught him in the solar plexus, he gagged at the force and staggered back.
“Stop, Ezra,” I warned him. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Yeah?” Ezra wheezed. “Well, I plan to hurt you.”
Dammit, his hand dipped to his belt. Like me, he was probably armed. I didn’t want to have to shoot him. I liked Ezra—for the most part. He was a dick, but most of the guys I knew were also dicks. He’d also tried to warn me, when he didn’t have to.
I made one flat palmed motion to Rome to keep him out of the fight. If Ezra didn’t want to be reasonable, we would have to do this a different way. I closed the distance before he could pull the gun and this time slammed my foot into his sternum. It knocked the air out of him and doubled him over. The uppercut sent him staggering, the second cross strike took him down. It was fast, it was dirty, and he was gonna have one hell of a fucking headache.
One of my knuckles cracked with the blow and pain shot through my hand. Good, I needed the lash of it. I managed to catch him before he hit the ground. With care, I located his gun and his phone. After handing them both to Rome, I hauled Ezra up and over my shoulder.
“Fuck, he’s gained weight,” I grunted. Lean as he was, it was still all muscle. Rome got the passenger side door of Ezra’s low slung sports car opened and I dumped the other man in it. His head lolled and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Shaking my hand, I buckled him in while Rome circled to the driver’s side. Ezra hadn’t even turned the engine off. The backseat was a joke, but Rome climbed in there. I slid into the driver’s seat and we headed back to the hotel.
It was still dark when we pulled up. While I got Ezra inside and secured, Rome took care of his car. We didn’t need to get rid of it entirely, but it sure as shit didn’t need to be parked right in front of the hotel we were staying at.
One of the best parts of doing this with my brother, we didn’t have to talk. Dropping to sit on the end of the bed, I stared at Ezra. I’d secured him to the desk chair. It wasn’t really gonna hold him if he fought, but it might slow him down long enough to listen.
The shortness of the run and the fight hadn’t done much for me. Fuck. I scrubbed a hand over my face. I liked this son of a bitch. I really didn’t want to have to bury him.
I downed a bottle of water before I filled up a glass, and then splashed it on his face. Better to get this over with while Rome wasn’t here. They knew I had a twin. They’d never been formally introduced to him and I’d prefer to keep it that way.
Ezra let out a grunt and jerked his eyes open as I sat back on the edge of the bed. I had his gun right next to me, so if I had to calm him down I had another option too. It took all of ten seconds for recognition to flash into his eyes and he glared at me.
“You son of a bitch,” he began.
“Well, probably, not that we’ve ever bothered to check. Though, I’d recommend you not talk about my mother that way.”
He curled his lip, then winced, before he glared all over again. “I’ve been looking for you for a fucking week.”
“Well, you found me.” Clearly. “Want to try this again while using your words?”
“You asshole.”
“Okay.” If he wanted to call me names, I’d let him get it off his chest. “This isn’t productive, Ezra. What pissed you off?”
“Like you don’t know!” The scoff might aggravate me coming from someone else but there was just enough real disappointment amongst the outrage and the fury to give me pause.
“Let’s pretend I’ve been off the grid for a week and we haven’t spoken since you called to warn me about a certain someone’s impatience.”
He snorted, then spit. Blood flecked spittle hit the carpet at my feet. Yeah, I’d seen worse.